The lovely garden terrace of the Royal Danish Embassy in Bangkok, decorated with a Dannebrog, was filled with over 100 Danes and Danish-related people when Anne-Marie Dalgaard, General Secretary of Danes Worldwide, on Wednesday 7 October 2015 was key speaker about the common problems and issues, that Danes face when moving abroad.
Setting the scene for the evening, the guest were first welcomed by Ambassador Mikael Hemniti Winther, then by Mai Ellegaard, local representative of Danes Worldwide, and finally by Klaus Stove, Managing Director of Tropical Focus.
“You really don’t think much about the Danish system.. until you buy a one way ticket out of Denmark,” Klaus Stove said describing his own case.
“When you have a degree in engineering, you always think about the worst case scenario. What’s the worst thing that can happen? And where can I get help?” asked Klaus Stove in his speech. His question was familiar to many of the Danish- or Danish-related individuals who attended the event.
Anne-Marie Dalgaard’s answer was clear and simple: You of course become a member of Danes Worldwide!
“I cannot thank our sponsors enough for making this evening come true. It’s the right spirit: let’s all work together!” she began her speech and expressed her gratitude to the Danish sponsors Fyn Bakery, ECCO, Carlsberg, Royal Copenhagen and ScandMedia/ScandAsia. Anne-Marie Dalgaard explained the idea of Danes Worldwide and what they can do for the individual Dane og Danish-related individuals.
“We will help you pick the right school for your children. We will inform you about your rights as a Dane. We will find the best doctors and healthcare for you. We have local representatives worldwide who know about issues that Danes care about,” she said.
Giving the Secretary General a break, two Danish girls among the guests, Frida Steib-Hansen and Caroline Clausen, gave a lively account on how much fun it was to join the Summerschool organized by Danes Worldwide.
“We are definitely going back,” they both agreed.
While issues like retirement, preparation for moving abroad and language instructions were discussed, the guests were eating traditional Danish hotdogs made by Fyn Bakery and snacking on delicious Thai snacks delivered by the Danish Embassy. The hottest issue this evening was about the new passed law about dual citizenship, because there apparently still exist grey areas which need to be answered.
During the question and answer session after the speech, a guest asked if there was any way his 22 year old daughter could get a Danish citizenship, which Anne-Marie Dalgaard promises to look into.
The questions from the guests were very well organized and many questions were being asked. After a person had been giving an answer, the inquiring person could later get advice from different experts to different issues among the guests and thereby receiving a more complete answer to whatever question he might have.
Questions were answered, hugs were given and laughter was shared. The garden of the Royal Danish Embassy looked almost like a cosy Danish summer party with happy people eating hotdogs. ”Khun Yu” Suppanai Ratanaprakarn from Fyns Bakery served no less than 120 hotdogs this evening, a clear sign that the guests really enjoyed this traditional Danish dish.
“Unfortunately I did not get one myself, because they were all gone so fast,” Khun Yu said when packing up to leave.
The meeting was arranged by Danes Worldwide together with the Royal Danish Embassy, Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce, Scandinavian Society Siam, Danish Women’s Network, Thai-Danish Club, Copenhagen Goodwill Ambassadors.
The whole evening was documented on video by photographer and founder of Staytalk, Steen Trolle and video producer Jesper Brahe Nymann free of charge as a compliment to the Danish community in Thailand.
